Here are my top five observations from USC's 22-13 loss to Notre Dame...

1. Lane Kiffin needs some help

To be fair, Lane Kiffin takes too much heat for being who he is. He's not the demon described by Al Davis or a multitude of SEC fans. He is, however, an overmatched football coach right now, and at the very least he needs some help. First, it's a wonderful story, father and son coaching side by side, but it's becoming increasing clear that Monte Kiffin is unable to adjust to modern college offenses. Notre Dame played things pretty straight -- no Oregon-like gimmicks -- and put up 439 yards against USC's defense with a combination of slashing runs, quarterback draws and old-fashioned drop-backs and completions. Think about this one: how many times do opponents actually have to make tough catches against USC? The soft zone defense that the Trojans typically utilize is ineffective, particular when USC doesn't pressure the quarterback.

The grades are in for USC's 62-51 loss to Oregon on Saturday at the Coliseum:

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OFFENSE

The good: Oregon's defense had been touted as much improved, but the Trojans put up more points and yards on the Ducks than they did last year. … RB Silas Redd and RB Curtis McNeal both ran hard and got rewarded. … The offensive line did a good job of both run and pass blocking. … WR Marqise Lee continues to amaze.

Here are my top five observations from USC's 39-36 loss to Arizona on Saturday at Arizona Stadium:

1. This is progress?

Lane Kiffin is in the middle of his third season. Yes, expectations are high. Yes, USC is dealing with NCAA-mandated scholarship reductions. But is this what most people expected from Kiffin and the Trojans this season? Did USC, for much of the first half yesterday, look like a well-prepared team? Is there anything to indicate that Kiffin has any idea how to solve the Trojans' persistent penalty problems? Has Matt Barkley developed, in his fourth year, the way Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart did? To be fair, if Barkley hits a wide-open Robert Woods in the third quarter, and the Trojans take a 22-point lead, all of these questions get pushed to the background a bit, but the point is, Barkley didn't, and the Trojans lost. This is a USC team that was humming at the end of 2011, that might have been the best team in the country. Arguably, the Trojans should be even stronger right now. Instead, they're getting exposed by Arizona. If the effort is there, as Kiffin said it was against Arizona, what's the problem? Talent? Certainly not. Coaching? Well...

Junior cornerback Nickell Robey is firmly entrenched on one side of the field but the other side continues to be up for grabs.

Sophomore transfer Josh Shaw got his first start last week against Colorado but former starter Torin Harris saw plenty of action and Anthony Brown, who got the nod to open the season against Hawaii and Syracuse, was also worked in.

USC coach Lane Kiffin said the job remains open and that he'll continue to rotate them at Arizona. The Trojans figure to employ a number of defensive backs the next two weeks against the Wildcats and Oregon, both of which operate out of the spread formation.

''We'll probably keep with that format,'' Kiffin said. ''Getting guys in the game and keep evaluating guys.''

-- Once again, Coach Lane Kiffin wouldn't confirm whether Max Tuerk (Santa Margarita High) will start at left tackle against Arizona, in place of injured Aundrey Walker, but it would be a big surprise at this point if Tuerk didn't get the nod. If he does, he will be the first true freshman starter at left tackle in USC history. Winston Justice started as a freshman at right tackle in 2002.

-- Kiffin also did not announce a starter at the cornerback spot opposite Nickell Robey. Last week against Colorado, Josh Shaw got the start and split time with Torin Harris.

-- The NCAA released ''graduation success rate'' figures for athletes over a four-year period from 2002-03 to 2005-06. The numbers chart the number of athletes who received diplomas. USC football ranked ninth in the Pac-12 Conference with a 57-percent GSR. Stanford was first, at 90, while Cal was last, at 48. In men's basketball, USC was 12th of out 12, with a score of 43. Stanford again led the way, at 91.

Perhaps a couple acts of contrition brought some good karma to USC's Leonard Williams.

Saturday night, a few hours after he was ejected for throwing a punch at a Colorado player, Williams apologized to teammates. Three days later, he learned that the Pac-12 Conference would not exercise its option to suspend him. On Wednesday, Williams spoke politely and softly with reporters as he took responsibility for his actions. Less than an hour later, it was announced that Williams' name is on a 28-player watch list for National Freshman Performer of the Year honors.

In all, it was a roller-coaster four-day period for Williams, a freshman defensive tackle who has quickly established himself as a starter and a reliable contributor. He will be eligible to play Saturday at Arizona.

``I'm really relieved,'' Williams said Wednesday.

The incident took place after a second-quarter play at the Coliseum. Replays clearly showed Williams throwing a punch, but didn't show what USC teammates claimed happened moments earlier, that the Colorado player spit at Williams.

For every football coach who talks about not looking ahead, well, there's this...

Lane Kiffin acknowledged today that when he liberally rotated his defensive players last Saturday against Colorado -- particularly in the secondary -- he did it with an eye toward the no-huddle, fast-paced offenses that USC will face this week (against Arizona) and next week (against Oregon).

So while the overmatched Buffaloes didn't put much fear into the USC defense, the Trojans used the Colorado game as something of a dry run. They moved defensive players in and out, quickly, and used a deep roster that included increased reps for players such as Gerald Bowman and Drew McAllister.

''We rotated based off of preparing for the next two opponents,'' Kiffin said. ''We wanted to not get to this (week) and then all of a sudden have a no-huddle rotation. Even though (Colorado wasn't) no-huddle, we treated our reps that way, and that's why you saw all of our guys -- even T.J. McDonald and Nickell (Robey) -- rotating for us. It's very critical for those (other) guys to go in and play well. We're going to need them down the stretch here, with these high-powered offenses. … Even though we didn't expect Colorado to be up-tempo, we didn't want to wait until this week to start shuffling guys.''

The Trojans know they will face a big test from Arizona, which averages the most passing yards per game in the Pac-12 Conference. Josh Shaw, the converted safety who started at cornerback against Colorado and split time with Torin Harris, figures to get tested as well. Kiffin indicated that he is mostly pleased with Shaw's development.

Here are some injury- and lineup-related observations gleaned from warmups before today's game between USC and Colorado at the Coliseum:

** Josh Shaw was announced as the starter at the No. 2 cornerback spot opposite Nickell Robey. The transfer from Florida will be making his first career start for USC. He replaces Torin Harris, who suffered a concussion last week. Harris is suited up. Whether he plays remains to be seen.

** Tight end Randall Telfer (ankle) participated in early warmups but did not line up with the first- or second-team offenses. My guess is that he'll sit out. Xavier Grimble will start.

** Aundrey Walker took most of the reps with the first team at left tackle. He should start, but he is expected to split time with Max Tuerk.

A few quick hits from today's media availability with Coach Lane Kiffin...

** Kiffin reiterated that both Aundrey Walker and Max Tuerk would play against Colorado on Saturday, but declined to publicly name a starter. Also still unknown is who will start opposite Nickell Robey at cornerback.

** Kiffin attempted to clarify his statement about Matt Barkley not getting excessively hit during the Washington game. Kiffin said he wasn't concerned about Barkley's ability to take a hit, but that he wouldn't want to expose any quarterback to a big hit while the Trojans held a big lead.

** Kiffin said he wouldn't game-plan any differently, with Barkley and Robert Woods both approaching Pac-12 Conference career records. Woods is four catches from matching Dwayne Jarrett's record total of 216, while Barkley is three touchdown passes from matching Matt Leinart's record of 99.